A Shower of Leaves
by destiny's crossroads
Summary: A visit to Halloween Town leads to a brief moment of contemplation for Sora...


A/N: Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday to me. Anyways, here's the story that I promised for everyone, and it's finished. I'm so proud. The story takes place in Halloween Town during the first KH and it's kind of a reflection on Sora. If this story goes well, I may end up with a trilogy of these reflections. Anywho, let me know what you think and I promise I'll get back to you. God bless!

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts.

A Shower of Leaves

"So, explain to me exactly what these Heartless are," said Jack Skellington as he checked the guillotine to make sure that it would be ready for the party that would take place in Halloween Town that very evening. Sally, faithful as always, looked on, lending Jack a hand when he needed it. Jack, after all, was the pumpkin king and had hoped to include the Heartless in his festivities to kick the terror up a notch, but to no avail. The Heartless could not be controlled so Jack was in the process of racking his brain to find other means of prompting fear. He did have a reputation to live up to after all.

"Well the Heartless are creatures who have no hearts," rasped Donald as he stated the obvious. "They spend their days collecting hearts to make up for the lack of their own and then an evil woman takes the hearts they acquire for her own evil purposes."

Sora, who had been eyeing the guillotine with interest, rolled his blue eyes. He knew Donald had been waiting for this moment since the instant they had arrived. Although Sora and Goofy had agreed to Donald's demand that they tell no one about where they were from or what their mission was, apparently the demand hadn't included Donald. Sora had heard the story hundreds of times. It had gotten to the point that Sora almost had it memorized word for word. Donald would plunge into the story unabashedly, telling how Goofy, Sora, and he had met and how their adventures had escalated from there. Of course, he would leave out the fact that they had come from different worlds and how Goofy and him were on a mission for King Mickey. Every event the three had taken part in was made to seem like it had taken place on the current world they were attempting to seal the keyhole. Donald would continue on from there with an in depth explanation of how _he_ had saved Sora and Goofy's life countless times and all that was required of himself to make sure they remained safe. The first few times Sora had tried to correct Donald, he had been met with a feathered hand in his face and a severe tongue lashing over the fact that he was not the one telling the story. After several of these occurrences, Goofy had suggested that it wasn't worth Sora's time or energy trying to correct Donald and had pointed out the fact that to even be mentioned in one of Donald's stories was a great accomplishment. So Sora had given up as a means of retaining his sanity.

Sensing that a story was in the making, Jack had taken a seat on the ground and was followed shortly by Sally. The moment Sally was close enough, Jack had grabbed her hand and pulled her closer, obviously enjoying any time they could spend together. Goofy, too, had chosen to take a seat also sensing the beginnings of Donald's story. Donald turned expectantly towards Sora, waiting for him to do the same, but Sora was in no mood to cooperate. Looking around for an escape, Sora took in the stairway to Dr. Finkelstein's laboratory, where the doctor's wildest imagination was put to the test in his creations. The doctor kind of freaked him out so going and seeing him was not a favorable option to the story. Across the square set the path to the graveyard. Sora had also been to the graveyard while searching for Oogie Boogie's castle. Sora knew that the graveyard would not prove a means of getting him out of the story.

"Sora…," said Donald, a hint of his temper beginning to show, "aren't you going to sit down?"

"Um…," said Sora and then a thought suddenly struck him when he happened to glance at the huge, rusted, iron gates at the entrance of the square, "I was actually thinking about taking a quick look out there." Sora pointed outside of the gates hoping for a miracle.

"Sora, you don't need to be wondering around," said Donald bluntly. "You don't know what's out there. It could be dangerous. Why don't you just sit down and be quite?"

Sora looked to Goofy, desperation in his eyes. Goofy took the hint.

"Ya know Donald, that might not be such a bad idea," said Goofy thoughtfully. "I'm sure Sora could use the break, especially after having just defeated Oogie Boogie. Let him be a kid and explore for a little while."

"But you don't know what past those gates," said Donald countering Goofy's argument. "What if something were to happen to him…"

"Actually," said Sally interrupting Donald, "it's a pretty safe place."

"Yeah, it's so dismal out there that no one really wants to go past the gate," said Jack throwing in his opinion. "Sora shouldn't have to worry about anything bothering him. Besides, I'm sure he can take care of himself."

Sora tried to hide a grin. Donald had no choice but to let him go now.

"Fine," said Donald with a hiss. "You can go, but Goofy and I are coming to get you in a little while."

"Alright," said Sora already walking to the gate. "See you in a minute." Sora waved as an overwhelming sense of gratitude fell on him. He would definitely have to thank Goofy, Sally, and Jack when he got back.

The moment Sora's back was turned, Donald launched into his story, determined not to let Sora's absence spoil his grand moment. Sora sighed. He could just imagine the things that Donald would say about him now… Oh well. At least he had his freedom for a moment.

As Sora passed through the gate, he noticed a small sign hanging crooked from the iron work. Echoing Jack's words, the sign read "Dismal Forest Ahead". Sora shuddered. He had thought Halloween Town was the most dismal place he had ever been. The place was shrouded in a never ending green fog and was quite chilly. Ghosts and spooks flinted about, going on with their daily lives unbeknownst to them that outside of their world they would have been considered terrifying. Of course, Sora had no room to talk as he glanced down at his clothes. In an attempt to keep their identities hidden, Donald had used his magic to create outfits that would allow them to fit in a little better with this world. Donald had been transformed into a mummy, while Goofy resembled something like Frankenstein, and Sora had been given the look of a vampire with a pumpkin covering one eye. What the pumpkin was for, Sora had no idea. He liked to think it was some form of revenge from Donald…

Sora shook his head. It didn't matter what he looked like or how dismal the place he was walking towards was: he was free. Free to ponder on things without worrying about being caught by Donald or Goofy. Sora had a tendency to wear his emotions on his face so the moment he began to think about something sad, he was immediately attacked and told to cheer up. But it was good to think about things from time to time. And Sora had many things to ponder on. So much had happened since he had been torn from his home on Destiny Island. Although he had seen so many new places and experienced so many new things as the chosen keybearer, it had come at a very high price. He was forced to lose everything he held dear just so he could save everything that everyone else held dear. It was a price that was taking its toll on him both physically and mentally. Sora was constantly homesick and dealt with the pain of not knowing what had happened to his mother and the place he called home. He really doubted he even had a home to go back to right now, although Goofy and Donald seemed to always avoid the question when Sora would ask it.

But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was what Sora did know. Sora knew that it was up to him to stop Maleficent and her evil gang. Sora knew that he had to seal the door of each and every world. Sora could deal with this knowledge. It was a goal, an end to a journey. The information that Sora couldn't deal with, however, was the fates of his two best friends. Although Sora knew that Riku and Kairi were both alive, he understood that such an occurrence had been bought at a high price. At some point in time during Riku's journey, Riku had chosen the path of darkness as a means of accomplishing his goals. Whether this had occurred before darkness had fell on Destiny Islands or after, Sora was not sure. It scared Sora a lot to think about it. Riku may have chosen this path, but Sora had to wonder whether Riku would ever be able to return from such a path. If he couldn't, then what? Or worse yet, would Riku even want to return from his darkness?

Sora couldn't fathom why Riku would ever want to take such a path, but he was sure Riku had his reasons. And whatever the reasons might be, Sora could no sooner turn his back on Riku than he could on Kairi. Sora had learned many things on his journey through the worlds, one of the most important being the idea that light cannot exist without darkness. Wherever there was light, there would be shadows for darkness to thrive. Sora just hated the thought of Riku and him being on opposite sides. He had cherished his friendship with Riku no matter how often they got mad at each other or how hard they competed against each other. Sora felt his heart shatter when he had bumped into Riku once again while in Monstro and found him wielding darkness. And to make matters worse, Riku had accused Sora of not caring about Kairi.

Kairi… Sora sighed at the thought of her. If Sora had a reason to be on the side of light, she was it. Sora had always known that he loved the little red-headed girl, but he had never been able to tell her. Oh, what he would give to be able to do so now. The last time Sora had seen Kairi, Riku had been carrying her lifeless body through a dark portal, once again hiding her from him. The sadness that Sora had felt when he realized that Kairi no longer had her heart had been massive and lacking of words. The part that made Kairi what she was, she no longer possessed and Sora had no idea of where to start looking for it. All he really knew was that he had to find it, even if it cost him his life. He would gladly sacrifice his very being just to know that she was safe and he would do it with no qualms.

Sora felt a tear roll down his cheek and quickly wiped his hand across it. So many sad thoughts… Would there ever be an end too it? Sora highly doubted it as long as Kingdom Hearts was accessible. Even in his young age, Sora recognized the importance of his work and the unimaginable responsibility that came with it. Even if he did manage to help Kairi and Riku, there was no guarantee that he would be able to remain by their sides or they remain by his. Maybe that was what growing up was all about. Realizing that no matter where you are, everything will be alright as long as you know the ones you love are safe. It didn't matter how many miles come between Sora and these special people, as long as Sora kept them in his heart, they were always near.

Sora stopped a moment as his heart began to beat faster. Out of habit, Sora brought his hand to rest on his chest until the thumping slowly subsided. Sora had become accustomed to these sudden spikes in heart rate that seemed to occur whenever he did find a moment to think. Usually such attacks dredge up old memories of Kairi that he had long forgotten he had. It was a very weird relation between the attacks and the memories; they had never happened until Sora left the island. Sora often wondered whether he was trying to have a nervous breakdown, but always pushed the thought out of his mind. He couldn't afford a breakdown right now. Too many people were counting on him.

Sora suddenly took notice of his surroundings. He had no idea how long he had been walking, but at some point in time, the eerie, green fog had lifted considerably and the sky had lightened. Up ahead, Sora noticed what appeared to be vines covering the path. Shafts of light could be seen radiating through holes in the vines, creating weird designs on the ground wherever it fell. Curiosity replaced Sora's brooding mood and he forgot about his situation in order to pay full attention to this place. Jack had lead him to believe this was a very dismal place, so what on Halloween Town was causing that light? Footsteps increasing with anticipation, Sora practically jogged to the clearing. Sora stopped just short of the vines and took a deep breathe. Sally had said this place was safe, but Sora wanted to be prepared for whatever lay beyond the vines, so unnatural for this world was the light that emanated. With his nerve gathered, Sora pulled the vines back and burst through and immediately threw his hand over his eyes to keep from being blinded.

When Sora had given his eyes time to adjust to this new found brightness, he slowly lowered his hand and was engulfed in such an emotional rush that a gasp escaped his lips. What lay before him was nature's beauty at it's finest. There were trees everywhere. Not the withered, half-dead looking things that had graced Guillotine Square and the surrounding areas; no, these were beautiful, alive with color, trees. No matter which direction Sora looked, there were the brightest yellows, the deepest oranges, and the purest reds to dazzle the eye. Sora had been amazed that foliage outside of palm trees existed when he had set foot on Tarzan's world, but that didn't compare to the epiphany he was having now. Sora had not thought it possible for trees to turn such wonderful, amazing colors. If this was what Jack considered dismal, he didn't want to see what a cheery place looked like to him.

As Sora stared open mouthed at the sight before him, he suddenly had a flashback of a similar place where the leaves of the trees had turned colors. In the distance, a huge castle stood peaceful and immaculate. A word came to mind that Sora couldn't remember ever having heard before: autumn. Sora's heart quickened once again at the memory, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember ever having been to such a place. He would have surely remembered such a place.

Fearing that he was losing his mind, Sora sat down in order to calm his raging heart and mind. Sighing, Sora once again put his hand to his chest, waiting for his heart beat to slow as the memory disappeared as easily as it started. When he was confident that he was going to be fine, Sora began to look around once more. He had chosen a seat under a huge tree that displayed leaves of yellow and orange. Leaning against the tree, Sora took a deep breathe and was struck by how refreshing the air was here. In Halloween Town, the air had held a dank smell to it. Here, the air was fresh and calming. The temperature was also very pleasant, having just the slightest chill to it, but one that was easily forgotten with the warmth of the sun as it hit his skin. Sora looked up and his heart cheered as blue skies and puffy white clouds greeted his deep blue eyes.

"What a peaceful place," said Sora to the tree he had now leaned his back against, not caring that he looked crazy talking to a tree. Sora could just imagine that it would have been a place like this that Riku, Kairi, and he would have found themselves at if they had managed to get on the raft they had built so long ago and sail across the ocean. Sora smiled to himself as he shut his eyes enjoying the calmness around him. Even though they never got the chance to take the raft out, the three had managed to find other worlds. In a sense, they had accomplished what they had set out to do even if it wasn't together. But what Sora would have given for them to have seen this place! Kairi would have especially loved it. Sora had come to the conclusion a long time ago that the opposite sex enjoyed places such as this. Such places were considered romantic and were sought out just so you could enjoy each other's company. Although Sora hadn't understood exactly what the appeal was at the time, he certainly would have loved for Kairi to be sitting here with him now.

A slight breeze had picked up, ruffling Sora's spiky, brown hair. Sora could feel himself growing sleepy, but he didn't care. Sora was at peace with himself right now. It felt good just to relax for a moment. He hadn't realized the toll his body was paying in order for him to save the worlds. Again a breeze blew, sending small chill bumps across Sora's skin.

"Sora."

Sora stretched, placing his hands behind his head as a pillow.

"Sora."

Sora's stopped moving, straining his ears. He thought he had heard his name being called, but after a moment when no new noises were heard, he attributed it to the wind.

"Sora, you lazy bum."

Sora sat bolt upright and looked around. He had heard someone say that too him a long time ago. A strong wind unexpectedly whipped through the clearing, creating a shower of leaves all around him. Something caught Sora's eye out in the middle of the clearing and when Sora turned toward it, he was left speechless. There, in the middle of the clearing stood Kairi, the love of his life, a shower of color falling all around her.

Sora stood and rubbed his eyes in an attempt to prove this wasn't a figment of his imagination. When Sora opened his eyes and found her still staring back at him, tear drops began falling from his eyes as he approached the girl whom he thought he had lost. She smiled at him, blue eyes sparkling, hands clasped together, wearing the same outfit that Sora had last seen her in. The moment Sora reached her, he quickly pulled her into a tight embrace, sobbing. This was the Kairi he remembered, the Kairi who hadn't lost her heart, who was still alive and well. Sora could have stood there forever, unwilling to let the girl go, but Kairi eventually ended the embrace, pulling away so that she could look into Sora's eyes. Sora quickly ran a hand over his eyes to remove the fallen moisture and noticed that Kairi was also crying. Sora ran a gloved hand across her cheeks erasing the tears that she too had cried and was elated to see her smile when he moved his hand back.

"You're alright," said Sora, trying his best not to grab the girl in another hug. "I was so worried about you."

"I'm fine," said Kairi, looking up at him, deep blue eyes taking Sora's breathe away.

"How did you get here," Sora suddenly asked remembering that the last time he had seen her she was the epitome of a doll.

"I heard you calling for me," said Kairi taking Sora's hand in hers.

"What do you mean…" asked Sora, only to have Kairi's finger placed on his lips silencing the question.

"Shhh, I don't have long," she said quietly, taking her hand and placing it on his chest. Sora could feel a blush creeping up on his face but was unwilling to turn his face away from Kairi. "Your heart called to me and I came. You have been so brave Sora, and you must continue to do so. So many people are depending on you, but always know that Riku and I will be with you no matter what."

"But, Kairi, Riku has chosen the path of darkness."

"It doesn't matter. Riku would never turn his back on you no matter what he says, just like you would never turn your back on us. You must always have faith. You must always look to the light." Kairi smiled at him. "I know things will work out and we'll all be together again."

Kairi suddenly shuddered and Sora grabbed her shoulders as her hand feel from his chest.

"What's wrong Kairi," asked Sora, panic evident in his voice.

"I have to go," said Kairi, reaching up to stroke his face. "But I promise I'm always with you."

"No, Kairi, please don't go," pleaded Sora as his heart raced and the tears began to fall again. "I don't want to lose you again."

"Sora, I'm closer than you will ever know," said Kairi quietly as she began to pull away from Sora. Sora tightened his grip in response. "Sora," said Kairi tenderly as she raised herself up on her tip toes and grazed Sora's lips with her own. Shocked, Sora let go of her instantly and the moment the kiss was broken Kairi began to back up. Sora stood dumbfounded, unable to make his muscles move even though his brain was screaming at him to stop her.

"Sora, I'm always with you," Kairi said gently, a wind picking up, tossing her red hair and leaves. "Don't be afraid to follow your light."

Kairi held her hand up in a wave as the leaves surrounded her. Sora stepped forward trying to grab her, but where her body should have been, Sora met thin air.

"Kairi," said Sora quietly, watching the leaves die down. "KAIRI," he suddenly screamed not wanting to lose her again. Another wind picked up and Sora shut his eyes against the tears as he began to shake uncontrollably, emotions raw.

"Sora."

Why, why did she have to leave again? Why couldn't they be happy? Why did _they_ have to give up so much?

"SORA!"

Sora suddenly jerked his eyes open and found himself staring into two sets of eyes. Out of sheer surprise, Sora set up and brought his head crashing into Donald and Goofy's head. The duck immediately pulled out his staff, ready to send a bolt of lightening through Sora's system in an attempt to knock some sense into him when Goofy grabbed the staff and received the bolt himself.

"A-yoo-hoo-hoo," yelped Goofy as Sora rubbed his head, trying to ease the newly acquired headache.

"What's going on," asked Sora when the commotion had subsided.

"We came to find you," squawked Donald, his temper slowly ebbing. "We're getting ready to leave. And then you have to go and attack us."

"What," asked Sora.

"You were dreaming," said Goofy, patting his clothes in an attempt to get rid of the burn marks that had appeared from the thunderbolt. "You must have fallen asleep."

It suddenly struck Sora what had happened. Kairi hadn't really been here. It had been a dream. But, it had seemed so real… Sora reached up and touched his lips. How could that have been a dream?

"You were calling Kairi's name," said Donald, a grin appearing on his beak.

Sora turned twelve shades of red before jumping up to his feet. "So were leaving now," he asked in a pathetic attempt to change subjects. He had no desire to discuss the issue with Donald.

"Yep," said Goofy following the conversation. "We decided that we had had enough of Halloween for awhile." Donald nodded his head in agreement before a thought struck him.

"Hey, I thought this place was supposed to be gloomy," he rasped, looking around at the scenery.

"Apparently Jack has different standards for dismal," said Sora shrugging his shoulders.

"A-hyuck, this place sure is pretty," said Goofy, also admiring the surroundings.

"Well, we don't have time to sight see right now," said Donald standing up and walking toward the edge of the clearing. "We got another lead on this Hollow Bastion that Riku mentioned."

"Really," asked Sora, hopeful at the chance he might me able to save Riku and Kairi.

"Yep, that's actually where we're heading," said Goofy also walking toward the vines that Donald had already stepped through. Before pulling the vines back he looked back at Sora. "Are you alright?"

Sora thought for a moment before replying. "Yeah, I'm fine. I think I just needed a reminder that my light hadn't faded out."

"Sora, I don't think you ever have to worry about you're light fading," said Goofy with a wink. "As long as Riku and Kairi are out there, you'll always have a light." With that said Goofy pulled the vines back and walked through.

Sora approached the vines and took one last look at this beautiful place where Kairi had reminded him that she would always be there for him along with Riku. He smiled to himself, his faith renewed. He knew what he had to do and he knew that as long as he remembered his friends, he could find the strength he needed to get through the day. He would find Kairi and Riku and would bring them back while making sure all the worlds were safe. It was his responsibility and he would make sure that he finished it. Sora was the keybearer and he would live up to the name.

Content with himself, Sora pulled the vines back and stepped through, a shower of leaves bidding him farewell.

A/N: Please review. Pretty please?


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